Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Kill.
Hi Shannon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story is like so many other millennials. I personally grew up poor with a single mother, so the most we talked about money was to say “we don’t have it”. Even if you didn’t grow up below the poverty line, you can probably relate to never talking about finances either because it was “inappropriate”. What they didn’t tell you is that their parents also never talked to them about money, so we’re now several generations deep with no real understanding of how money works and very little chance at success in breaking those cycles and creating generational wealth for our lineage.
I started my business first out of a pure desire to use my love for numbers and finance to create a business that worked with my unique brain and allowed me to provide a life for my family that I once only dreamed of. What I found when I began working with other neurodivergent women entrepreneurs was a deep need for financial literacy through education and a passion for breaking generational curses. I started out as a bookkeeper and have organically moved into cash flow management and financial projection while also holding my clients through some really hard moments as they’re unraveling their money trauma. I’m proud to say that not only am I stellar at planning out and managing their finances but that I also do so in a trauma-informed manner because I care about the human behind the bank account more than anything.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! I think any entrepreneur who says that is either a) lying or b) had a LOT of meaningful help along the way.
One of the biggest struggles for me was learning a couple of years into my business that not only was I working through my own trauma but that I am also neurodivergent, meaning that I do not process information in a “typical” way. For me specifically, this means that I am Dyslexic and I have ADHD, but the term “neurodivergent” includes many diagnoses such as Autism, Hyperlaxia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Dyspraxia, just to name a few.
What this meant for me was an unexpected extended period of ND burnout, something that most ND entrepreneurs experience at one point or another. For me, this was caused by me trying to do too many tasks in my business that ultimately are not healthy for my neurotype, specifically constantly marketing on social media and exposing myself to constant feedback from others. Something a lot of ND individuals experience is a phenomenon called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) that can make it incredibly difficult for us to put ourselves out there; when we experience rejection or even anything we interpret as rejection, it can cause a negative downward spiral. As someone who never really engaged in social media prior to starting my business, I was NOT prepared for the amount of feedback I would receive on a regular basis and before I knew it, I was dealing with intense anxiety and depression. These are things I’m all too familiar with in my life, but having worked so heavily on my mental health over the past 5 or so years, I truly was not expecting to end up in the place I did.
So for me, I think the burnout periods were some of my biggest struggles because they impacted my ability to show up consistently and bring on new clients which ultimately trickled over into every area of my life, bringing up a lot of the same issues I work through with my clients. Life often is the greatest teacher and ultimately I’m grateful for these periods because they’ve provided a new perspective that I did not have before that I am now able to guide my clients through in a much healthier way.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a financial consultant for neurodivergent women entrepreneurs. I focus on cash flow management and financial projections and I take a trauma-informed approach in all my practices. So often when we think of money, we think there’s this one set way of doing things that will make us successful. The reality for neurodivergent folks is that what works for neurotypical brains rarely makes sense for us. I make it a point to get to know each of my clients on a deep level so I can understand what lights them up and what makes them tick. The more I can understand about how a person’s brain works, the more likely I am to be able to create a plan that works for them.
What sets me apart from others is my focus on individualization and sustainability. Part of what I do with my clients is I create an incredibly detailed, fully customized financial plan broken down into bite-size weekly chunks called the 52-Week Snapshot. None of my Snapshots look the same because they are each catered to the individual and geared toward making sure they are realistic for them and that they are able to implement their long-term. I break it up into weekly chunks so that the information is less overwhelming while ultimately contributing to a much larger picture. My goal is that it feels like you’ve hardly changed anything at all and that all those tiny tweaks along the way will pay dividends for years to come.
While I do primarily work with entrepreneurs to teach them how to manage their own money long term, I have just opened up a “Done For You” offering where we work together to create a customized plan for you and then I personally implement said plan for you going forward and check in with you periodically to make sure that you know exactly what your money is doing at all times. Transparency is a huge value of mine, so even if you don’t want to be the one actively paying your bills and managing your money, I still want you to feel empowered and in control of your financial decisions and that you understand what is happening so there are no surprises.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see a lot more of the younger generations becoming more actively involved in their finances.
We tend to dismiss millennials and gen Z especially, but I think we’re going to see some powerful shifts coming from gen Z as they move into a space where they have more power to make decisions and I think it will ultimately be a really positive thing for everyone. Every generation tends to think the younger generation is lazier and more entitled, but I truly believe that, overall, they are more conscious of the big picture than any other generation before them because of the massive amounts of information available and ability to connect with the rest of the world. Our job as the older generations is to support their growth and curiosity.
Pricing:
- $14.99 – Mindset Reconstruction Protocol Companion Journal
- $297 – Mindset Reconstruction Protocol
- $222 – One Time Strategy Session
- $222/Month – The Hive (master)mind
- $2,222+ – Personalized 52-Week Snapshot/Cash Flow Management
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shannonmariekill.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonmariekill/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannonmarielindsey
- Other: TheNeurodiveHive.com
Image Credits
Shannon M Kill
